Manoj Bajpayee regrets saying no to this blockbuster, refused to work with Shah Rukh Khan because...

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's interpretation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Devdas with Shah Rukh Khan has made records at the box office. The 2002 movie was among the few hits of that year that were appreciated by the masses and critics. Apart from SRK, other performances of Madhuri Dixit (Chandramukhi), Aishwarya Rai (Paro), and Jackie Shroff (Chunnilal) were also admired. 

We have heard that for the role of Chunnilal, Govinda and Shekhar Suman were considered, and they both rejected the role. Now, it's learnt that before Jackie Shroff, even Manoj Bajapyee was considered for Chunnilal. In an interview with Sushant Singh, when he was asked if he had ever rejected a movie that became a big hit. The Satya actor said, “Yes, I was offered Jackie Shroff's role in Devdas, but I immediately said no." 

Why did Manoj Bajpayee reject Devdas? 

In the same conversation, he revealed the reason, why he rejected the film, "I told Sanjay, ‘Sanjay, yaar, meri toh hamesha se ichchha thi Devdas karne ki (I always wanted to play Devdas). That film became a super hit, but I have regrets about letting it go. I'd wanted to play Devdas since my theatre days, ever since I'd watched Dilip Kumar's film, or read the book. But I never felt bad.” On the work front, Manoj was last seen in Bhaiyya Ji. The action drama was actor's 100th film, but it failed at te box office. 

When Shekhar Suman revealed why he rejected Devdas' Chunilal

In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Shekhar disclosed, "Long ago Devdas mein unhone mujhe Chunnilal ka role offer kiya tha, jo main nahi kar paya...waqt nahi tha. Jackie saab ne kiya, and accha hua unhone kiya. Woh ek malaal reh gaya tha zindagi mein. Lekin woh kami ab puri ho gayi." 

Read: Meet actor, who made superhit debut, his one mistake made Shah Rukh Khan a star, disappeared from films, now...